Category: Social Media Marketing

According to the recruiter at my company, having a booth at a Job Fair costs anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000. If I were to spend this kind of money, I would do anything to make sure it was well worth my investment. Wouldn’t you?

I’m a inherently a problem solver. And it bothers me when people squander valuable and easy opportunities to make a difference. I see so many HR professionals spending valuable company resources on attending job fairs only to come back with a bunch of resumes and no real relationships with the candidates. That’s depressing, at least to me.

That can change. Using my 10-step process, you can not only double the amount of resumes, but the candidates you meet will be looking forward to apply at your company and build a genuine working relationship with you.

It’s all about value. Want to attract great candidates? Provide great value.

The 10-step process generates interest and gains a following before, during and after a job fair. Steps 1-6 should happen before a job fair. Steps 7-9 should happen during the job fair. And, step 10 should happen after the job fair.

Before the Job Fair

Generate Curiosity

You can send a tweet to your current Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn followers saying something like this, “We are planning something large in the near future. Wish I could tell you more about it. Have to wait until all is finalized.” You definitely want to send this first tweet once you are finalized about the job fair. Why? Your followers are now eagerly waiting to find out what the big surprise is. If the job fair doesn’t pan out, then you will not only be disappointing them but probably also lose some following.

Build Excitement

The tweet should say something like this, “FINALLY! So excite to let you know that we are going to have a JOB FAIR. Will follow-up soon with more details.” The job seekers following you will now start gearing up.

Subscribe for First Dibs

Send an email to your entire contact list stating, “Follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn to be the first one to know when and where the job fair is.” This way, some of the people who are on your contact list but are not following you on Social Media could start following your on Social Media channels.

Venue & Time Information

Send a Tweet stating the Job Fair’s location, date and time information.

How to get the most out of it?

You want to let your job seekers know that you care about them. You don’t want to waste their time finding your booth. So, in this tweet, let them know where exactly your booth will be located and when they come there expect to meet Mr. or Ms. XYZ. An awesome idea here would be to include a link to “How to make the most out of any Job Fair?” document. It can be anywhere from 1-few pages. This also makes you stand out from other companies that will be at the job fair.

Reminder Information

Send out a Tweet one day before the fair reminding your followers that the Job Fair is right around the corner and you cannot wait to see and meet them.

During the Job Fair

Job Fair Begins!

Send out a tweet announcing the start of the Job Fair. Ask people to stop by.

Share your Excitement

Have your company reps send out tweets from the job fair about the excitement and important happenings. This builds positive energy among your followers and also reminds anyone about your existence at the job fair, in case they missed out on your booth.

After the Job Fair

Thank You!

At the end of the Job Fair day, send out a tweet thanking the participants for making it successful and stating that the job fair was incredible.

Where to get follow-up information

On the following day, send out messages on your social media accounts telling job fair candidates about where to find follow-up information on the resume they handed out at the job fair.

It is also helpful to send information about your company reps that will be present at the fair. This information can either include their bio if it is on your website or names and titles at the minimum. This helps personalize your company. When the candidate comes to your booth, they know to expect Mr. / Ms. XYZ as opposed to some Random Rep at other booths.

Bonus Step

Extract the e-mails of candidates who provided you with a resume and build a list.

Upload the list to your email marketing database and send out an email to them specifically with the follow-up information.

A personalized service like that can go a long way. It shows the candidates that the company truly cares about them.

One last idea – Stand out from competitors

Give a one-page document to everyone that stops. The document should contain:

Information about the company

A link on how to submit a job application

Who to follow-up with after the application is submitted

Links to company’s social media handles

It’d be a good idea to have this document be on a bright-colored paper. It separates from all the white-colored paper they will have.

Make sure the social media handles are spelled out.

Consider adding QR codes if you like.

While most companies will be handing out mugs and mouse pads, your paper will actually provide follow-up information.